desolate

adjective des·o·late \ ˈde-sə-lət , ˈde-zə- \

Definition of desolate

1 :devoid of inhabitants and visitors :deserted

a desolate abandoned town

2 :joyless, disconsolate, and sorrowful through or as if through separation from a loved one

a desolate widow

3 a :showing the effects of abandonment and neglect :dilapidated

a desolate old house

b :barren, lifeless

a desolate landscape

c :devoid of warmth, comfort, or hope :gloomy

desolate memories

—

desolately

adverb

—

desolateness

noun

See desolate defined for English-language learners

See desolate defined for kids

desolate was our Word of the Day on 06/25/2009. Hear the podcast!

Examples of desolate in a Sentence

a desolate house abandoned many years ago
destitute and desolate since her husband walked out on her

Recent Examples of desolate from the Web

Interstate 610 is desolate, and portions of it are completely underwater.

— kristine phillips, Washington Post, "Here’s what Houston looks like as Harvey floods submerge the city," 27 Aug. 2017
Alina Fernández, Fidel’s daughter, told me some years ago that sitting in such a desolate apartment, feeling paralyzed and depressed, is what finally moved her to flee her country.

— eduard freisler, National Review, "Venezuela and the Gray Shades of Communist Czechoslovakia," 21 Aug. 2017
The solution: The general dug up pictures of Kabul's Massoud Circle from 2005 and 2015 to show how businesses and traffic had returned to the once desolate area.

— greg jaffe and philip rucker, chicagotribune.com, "As Trump's patience wanes, McMaster navigates divide over U.S. Afghan strategy," 4 Aug. 2017
An hour or so into the drive, the forests vanish and are replaced by desolate scrubland.

— michael lewis, The Hive, "Why the Scariest Nuclear Threat May Be Coming from Inside the White House," 2 Aug. 2017
Thursday’s one-day strike, when four demonstrators were killed, left many parts of the capital, Caracas, desolate.

— christine armario, The Seattle Times, "Venezuela power struggle intensifies in Supreme Court battle," 21 July 2017
The hardware store, the courthouse, the desolate Main Street of this town in the hills outside Los Angeles—all of it looks so familiar.

— Harper's BAZAAR, "Miley Cyrus' Summer of Love," 13 July 2017
Despite recent claims to the contrary, there's no doubt in Ric Gillespie's mind that Amelia Earhart died as a castaway after her plane crashed on a desolate island in the Pacific Ocean in July 1937.

— the washington post, AL.com, "Researchers believe they know where Amelia Earhart died, despite photo suggesting capture by Japan," 10 July 2017
These three components sustain me through the desolate stretches, when my appetite pangs seem urgent and important.

— maggie lange, Bon Appetit, "The Only 3 Snacks You Need For Your Long-Haul Summer Roadtrip," 10 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'desolate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

What is the Word Origin of desolate?

Something that is desolate is literally or figuratively "abandoned," so you probably won't be surprised to learn that "desolate" has its roots in the Latin verb desolare, meaning "to abandon." The Middle English word desolat comes from the past participle of "desolare," which in turn combines the prefix de- and the adjective solus, meaning "alone." "Desolate" is not at all alone in this family of words. Some other familiar descendants of "solus" include "solitary," "sole," "solo," "solitude," and "soliloquy."

Origin and Etymology of desolate

Middle English desolat, from Latin desolatus, past participle of desolare to abandon, from de- + solus alone

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First Known Use: 14th century

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desolate Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of desolate

alone, solitary, lonely, lonesome, lone, forlorn, desolate mean isolated from others. alone stresses the objective fact of being by oneself with slighter notion of emotional involvement than most of the remaining terms.

- everyone needs to be alone sometimes

solitary may indicate isolation as a chosen course

- glorying in the calm of her solitary life

but more often it suggests sadness and a sense of loss.

- left solitary by the death of his wife

lonely adds to solitary a suggestion of longing for companionship.

- felt lonely and forsaken

lonesome heightens the suggestion of sadness and poignancy.

- an only child often leads a lonesome life

lone may replace lonely or lonesome but typically is as objective as alone.

- a lone robin pecking at the lawn

forlorn stresses dejection, woe, and listlessness at separation from one held dear.

- a forlorn lost child

desolate implies inconsolable grief at loss or bereavement.

- desolate after her brother's death

dismal, dreary, bleak, gloomy, cheerless, desolate mean devoid of cheer or comfort. dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess.

- dismal weather

dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility.

- a dreary job

bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten.

- the bleak years of the depression

gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise.

- gloomy war news

cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering.

- a drab and cheerless office

desolate adds an element of utter remoteness or lack of human contact to any already disheartening aspect.

- a desolate outpost

desolate

verb des·o·late \ -ˌlāt \

Definition of desolate

desolated; desolating

transitive verb

:to make desolate:

a :to deprive of inhabitants

The neighboring towns were desolated.

b :to lay waste

desolating the city with bombs

c :forsake

their desolated families back home

d :to make wretched

—

desolater

or desolator play \-ˌlā-tər\ noun

—

desolatingly

play \-ˌlā-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

See desolate defined for English-language learners

Examples of desolate in a Sentence

totally desolated the city with aerial bombs

Origin and Etymology of desolate

see ¹desolate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

desolate Synonyms

Synonyms

annihilate, cream, decimate, demolish, destroy, devastate, do in, extinguish, nuke, pull down, pulverize, raze, rub out, ruin, shatter, smash, tear down, total, vaporize, waste, wrack, wreck

Antonyms

build, construct, erect, put up, raise, rear, set up

Related Words

beat, best, clobber, conquer, crush, defeat, drub, lick, master, overbear, overcome, overmatch, prevail (over), rout, scotch, skunk, subdue, surmount, thrash, trim, triumph (over), trounce, wallop, whip, win (against); blast, blow up, break, cripple, damage, deface, deteriorate, disfigure, disintegrate, dissolve, dynamite, harm, impair, injure, mangle, mar, mutilate, spoil, vitiate; erode, scour, sweep (away), wash out, wear (away); dilapidate, disassemble, dismantle, gut, take down, unbuild, undo, unmake; blot out, efface, eradicate, expunge, exterminate, extirpate, liquidate, obliterate, remove, root (out), snuff (out), stamp (out), wipe out; despoil, havoc, loot, pillage, plunder, ravage, sack, trample, trash, vandalize; assassinate, butcher, cut down, dispatch, execute, fell, kill, kill off, massacre, mow (down), murder, slaughter, slay, take out, zap

Near Antonyms

doctor, fix, mend, patch, recondition, repair, revamp; create, invent; assemble, fabricate, fashion, forge, form, frame, make, manufacture, mold, produce, shape; bring about, constitute, establish, father, found, institute, organize; conserve, preserve, protect, save; rebuild, reconstruct, remodel, renovate, restore

DESOLATE Defined for Kids

desolate

adjective des·o·late \ ˈde-sə-lət \

Definition of desolate for Students

1 :having no comfort or companionship :lonely

2 :left neglected or in ruins

a desolate old house

3 :without signs of life :barren

a dry, desolate land

4 :cheerless, gloomy

She put aside desolate thoughts.

—

desolately

adverb

desolate

verb des·o·late \ ˈde-sə-ˌlāt \

Definition of desolate for Students

desolated; desolating

:to ruin or leave without comfort or companionship

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desolate was our Word of the Day on 06/25/2009. Hear the podcast!

Examples of desolate in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of desolate

desolate Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Synonym Discussion of desolate

desolate

Definition of desolate

desolater

desolatingly

Examples of desolate in a Sentence

Origin and Etymology of desolate

desolate Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

DESOLATE Defined for Kids

desolate

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Definition of desolate for Students

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